Celebrating Bushcare through time

1992

Friends of Knocklofty is formed, and is the first group to start regular working bees. Waterworks Valley Landcare soon follows.

1993

Jill Hickie is appointed the City of Hobart’s first bushland manager.

1994

The City establishes a team to manage its bushland reserves and support volunteer groups working in bushlands.

1995

The Bushcare program is launched and new groups are established: Cascades Landcare, Lambert Gully Bushcare, Guy Fawkes Rivulet Landcare, Friends of Domain and the Friends of Truganini Reserve.

1996

Our first Bushcare Coordinator Kerry Heatley is appointed, the annual BBQ starts and a new program later to become Bush Adventures is launched. Kangaroo Valley and Fern Tree Bushcare groups are formed.

1997

Bush crew supervisor Paulus Toonen develops what will become our logo, an illustration of the bandicoot.

1998

Bushcare conveners begin the first of regular meetings as the program structure develops.

1999

Site-specific rehabilitation plans are prepared for Waterworks Valley Landcare, others will soon follow. Mt Nelson Bushcare is established and our first mascot, the Tassie Tiger, starts making regular appearances.

2000

Ridgeway Bushcare is established to reduce weeds in eucalypt forests.

2001

The first issue of the Bandicoot Times arrives, hot off the press. South Hobart Bushcare joins the fold, bringing Cascades Landcare to an end, and the Bushcare program wins the Tasmanian Landcare Local Government Award.

2002

Friends of Soldiers Memorial Avenue is formed and Cornelian Bay Bushcare holds its first meeting. Betty the Bandicoot becomes our new mascot, and Huon Road and Wellington Park Bushcare groups are also formed.

2003

We attract National Heritage Trust funding and there are now 14 Bushcare groups in Hobart. Our Weedbuster Week mascot, Woody Weed, enters the world stage.

2004

Valley Street Bushcare is formed and the Friends of Truganini is awarded a first prize in the Dr Edward Hall Environmental Awards.

2005

The City of Hobart adopts the first Bushcare policies and procedures.

2006

Friends of Knocklofty wins the Tasmanian Landcare Nature Conservation Award and Bluebell the Bandicoot takes over as our mascot.

Bushcare is an ideal way to get involved with your local community. You don’t need experience, age does not matter and there are no physical requirements. You get fresh air, exercise, social interaction at coffee time and a good feeling about improving the land."

- Astrid Wright, Golden Secateurs winner 2016, Friends of Knocklofty Bushcare Group

2007

From late 2002 through to 2008 Bushcare groups win half a million dollars in mainly federal grants to rehabilitate bushland and wildlife habitat.

2008

Antony Ault, a Friends of Knocklofty stalwart, receives the inaugural Bushcare Legend Golden Secateurs award. Regular volunteers get Bushcare hats and vests and the City releases its Bushland Management Strategy 2007-2017.

2009

The Tasmanian Land Conservancy Bushcare group is established.

Bushcare gives people a unique experience. They can actually make a lasting contribution to the very real improvement of Hobart’s bushland."

- Peter Franklin, Golden Secateurs winner 2010, Friends of Wellington Park

2010

The Friends of McAulay Reserve holds its first meeting and working bee and Bushcare moves to the big screen with the launch of its first promotional video.

2011

We win the Tasmanian Local Government Landcare Partnership Award.

I love being able to be part of restoring God’s creation so that it is a blessing for all to enjoy, and Bushcare is a way of empowering me to do that."

- Janet Stone, Golden Secateurs winner 2018, South Hobart Bushcare Group

2012

For the second year running Bushcare wins the Tasmanian Local Government Landcare Partnership Award.

2013

More than 450 people volunteer with Bushcare in a single year. The Friends of Knocklofty celebrate a huge achievement – removing the final stands of primary gorse – and the Friends of Truganini also celebrate a milestone, destroying the last accessible patches of boneseed in their reserve.

2014

Sixteen Bushcare groups now operate across Hobart as they continue to evolve with emerging needs and volunteer interests. The public recognises the valuable work Bushcare makes to the Hobart community, estimated at $1.65 million since its inception.

2015

Bushcare develops the City of Hobart’s new Trackcare program, which teaches volunteers track building skills and how to look after bushland tracks in our reserves.

2016

University of Tasmania students are given the chance to get involved in Bushcare through our collaboration with UTAS Cares, connecting students with groups caring for the environment.

Bushcare is special to me because at Knocklofty Reserve we converted a wilderness of weeds back into the native bushland it had been before European settlement."

- Antony Ault, Bushcare’s first Golden Secateurs winner and former Friends of Knocklofty champion

2017

Hobartians are given the chance to gain a deeper understanding of environmental stewardship through books by joining our new Bushcare Walking Book Club. We enter the realm of social media by starting a Bushcare Facebook page.

2018

Fern Tree Bushcare almost completely eradicates the newlydiscovered bushland weed Daphne laurel, we join hundreds of volunteers to clean up after the devastating May floods, and at the end of the year the Bushcare family gathers at the Queens Domain to celebrate 25 years of Bushcare.

Bushcare Legend Golden Secateurs Winners

2018 – Janet Stone

2017 – Gavin Wright

2016 – Astrid Wright

2015 – Ingrid Colman

2014 – Greg Summers

2013 – Andrew Hingston

2012 – Greg Kidd

2011 – Sue Gillespie

2010 – Peter Franklin

2009 – Sue Drake

2008 – Antony Ault